Product Details

• Actors: Nathan Lane
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Pbs (Direct)
• VHS Release Date: September 12, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004Y30C
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,202 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Don't expect a traditional tour of Venice's Grand Canal when Nathan Lane is the host, even if it is a PBS effort. Yes, you'll get to join a gondola ride, but you'll also see Lane fail miserably--albeit comically--in his own attempt to row. He brings that same light touch to other aspects of the enormous history of the six-century-old waterway (give or take a few decades). He takes viewers to the Accademia Galleries for a quick peek at work by the masters but contrasts it with a tour of the eclectic modern collection of "kooky" American heiress Peggy Guggenheim. Other behind-the-scenes visits include the studio of the maker of gondola oar supports, a luxury waterfront apartment inhabited by a glassmaking member of one of Italy's old families, and a vineyard inside the cloisters of San Francisco Della Vigna. He throws in an interview probing the environmental cause of the canal's decay, a potshot at Bob Dole, and a grand finale at the pigeon- and tourist-laden Piazza San Marco--making for a swift and informative 56 minutes. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Product Description

The city of Venice has been immortalized by so many but none with more wit than Nathan Lane. Making it his mission to find the "real" Venice. Nathan makes his way through the usual tourist hot spots uncovering some lesser-known secrets of the Grand Canal in Great Streets: The Grand Canal.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars My Dream Adventure September 14, 2000

By letitia hoffmann

I recommend this video. It brought my "dream city" to life. Nathan Lane, as tour guide, brought just enough humor to the navigation in this awesome place. He showed some everyday life mirrored against the outstanding wealth of some of Venice's most fortunate inhabitants. We saw art treasures, tourist sights, and even learned some history. It is the kind of video that can be viewed more than once with something interesting in each viewing.

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Streets = The Grand Canal with Nathan Lane May 20, 2011

By Sandra B. Gordon

Amazon Verified Purchase

Im so glad I saw this. I am extremely upset with the quality of the vhs along with the missing section which is the reason I bought it in the first place.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise Cracking in Venice - Nathan Lane is a Treasure February 2, 2006

By Dom Miliano VINE™ VOICE

I love Venice, Italy and when I first saw this show on PBS, I taped it and watched it a dozen times. Then I let a frieng borrow it and had to buy a replacement. And I am so glad I did. Lane is a hoot, making jokes like, "this is what God would have done if he had the money" as he toured one of the palaces along the Grand Canal. Next, while listening to a dry lecture from a historian, he mugs for the camera and then walks into a hanging candle holder. But the funny thing is that he actually gives you a nice look at life along the City's main waterway.

He doesn't take himself or the city too seriously - if you know anything about Italians, he got it right the first time.

Love Italy? Love irreverent humor (mostly in good taste)? Love Nathan Lane? Walk, don't run for your credit card. I wish it was on DVD.